


caesareus soldarius

by Eridans



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, magitek soldier!prompto argentum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-31
Updated: 2017-05-31
Packaged: 2018-11-07 04:39:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11051502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eridans/pseuds/Eridans
Summary: XX19004 wasn’t normal in the way many human children were, like asking questions or running around to waste energy. It learned quickly that questions would be answered with injections and threats, and running around caused induced comas. XX19004 sat still for all of its labs, and never spoke unless prompted.XX19004 was the best XX Magitek specimen the Empire had.





	caesareus soldarius

**Author's Note:**

> Don't own anything canon.

XX19004 was not a born monster or prodigy, much to the disappointment of its development team. “XX19008 and XX19005 have already grown _wings_.” One of the technicians huffed, as his assistants fumbled to keep the specimen upright. “04 doesn’t even have it’s _teeth._ ”

 

“Maybe the balance of daemon blood was incorrect?” His assistant suggested, only to shut her mouth quickly when he gave her a nasty look.

  
“Are you accusing me of not doing my work, Murus?”

 

“No, sir.”

 

“Good. It must be something wrong with the donor egg, something too strange for the genes to accept,” He muttered to himself, staring intently at the specimen. 04 drooled on itself.

 

_I need to do something before I end up killed by Besithia._

 

“Murus!”

 

She jumped, but kept her hold on the specimen stable. “Yes, sir?”

 

“I want you to inject 5 milliliters of daemon blood thrice a day into XX19004 until we see progress, do you hear me? I don’t want Besithia deciding we’d make good XY troops.”

 

Murus looked disturbed at the thought. “Yes, sir, right away.”

 

* * *

 

 

The main technician, Abecula, was immensely pleased with the progress of XX19004, enough so that he scheduled Besithia to visit and see the developments.

 

04 was now a two and a half years old, baby teeth growing in sharp, standing up on its own, and much to the joy of all the technicians, had nearly ten times the amount of Starscourge in its body then a deceased victim of the plague did. Not only that, 04 could speak in nearly complete sentences, and its unnaturally blue eyes promised intelligence that couldn’t have come from just a human child. Abecula was thrilled.

 

“Murus!” He yelled across the lab, glancing at the clock. “Make a note on my calendar to introduce 04 to the other XX specimens?”

 

“Are you sure? 02 killed 09 the other day-”

 

“Are you questioning me again, Murus?”

 

She shook her head vehemently. “No, no sir.”

 

“Good. For your disobedience, I want 04 to meet 02 _first._ ”

 

Murus glanced down at the specimen, who was not only her own pet project but who she had grown impossibly fond of, and nodded. “Yes, Dr. Abecula.”

 

* * *

 

 

04 wasn’t normal in the way many human children were, like asking questions or running around to waste energy. It learned quickly that questions would be answered with injections and threats, and running around caused induced comas. 04 sat still for all of its labs, and never spoke unless prompted.

 

That was why 02 was such a _mystery._

 

“You’re just another one of us, huh?” 02 snarled. “Another fuckup?”

 

 _02 has one prominent daemon inhabiting it,_ 04 recalled. _It retains memories of all of its previous lives._

 

“I don’t understand what that means.” 04 stated, monotone, as it was programmed to do.

 

02 sniffed. “Fuckup- mistake, disappointment, take your pick.”

  
“Neither.”

 

“Fucking _Ifrit.”_

 

“I’ve never heard of a God referred to as a swear word.” 04 intoned.

 

02 shook it’s bright blonde hair, lighter then 04’s own, at 04. “You’ve never learned anything then, 04. You’re what, three years old?”

 

04 did not mention how 02’s current state rendered it the same age as itself, and ignored the jab at its age. “Then I wish to learn what you can give.”

 

02 paused to assess the truth behind 04’s words, and seemed pleased beyond measure. 04 figured that it had been a long time since 02 had any power over anything. “I’ll teach you then. I’m Loqi.”

 

“You are specimen XX19002.” 04 stated, it’s expression never changing throughout their entire conversation.

 

02 held up its hands in front of itself like it was ready to attack. “Either you learn and you call me by my name, 04, or you’ll end up like 09.”

 

04 didn’t flinch. “Understood, Loqi.”

 

* * *

 

 

04 was four years old when Abecula decided it was time to commence weapons training. This meant that in addition to mental training and simulation, over half of 04’s waking day was spent completely physical tasks that would have been impossible for the normal not enhanced human.

 

It had been a few days since it had seen 02, or Loqi as the specimen prefered, but the other XX had mentioned that the more valuable you were the less likely you’d be sent back to remission. 04 had no real preference whether it was recommissioned, but it had promised to follow Loqi’s every instruction, and so did not hold back.

 

Abecula delighted at the prowess 04 had, and within five months of beginning the program, 04 was required to kill his first man.

 

04 took neither delight nor distaste in the killing, as it had been programmed to be. 04 heard none of the man’s pleas, when he stammered _please don’t I didn’t desert please I’ll make it up don’t kill me,_ and held up the gun directly to the traitor’s temple and fired.

 

Abecula boasted to the rest of the labs who managed the other XX specimens, “I heard some of your specimens couldn’t kill a man. 04 is _perfect._ ”

 

* * *

 

 

By the time 04 was six, it had been sent on nine missions, half subterfuge, another quarter assassinations, and one undercover mission to a local town during the night to test the daughter of a believed revolutionary. 04 had a 100% success rate, even if Loqi did consider using a gun to be ‘an inefficient tool in comparison to hands and robots’.

 

Loqi completed missions as well, but 02 was not as discreet as 04 was. Twice out of it’s twenty-five missions had the robotic magitek-troops arrive to play crowd control, but 04 and Loqi both remained the favored specimens out of the XX group.

 

There were few XX specimens left to complete the missions given. 01 died the moment it began to breathe with the daemon blood being too much for the small body, and the resulting scourge killed all it’s technicians in minutes. 05 and 09.5 had killed each other in a row, pitted against each other by technicians who thought the competition would be healthy, not deadly. All the technicians in both labs were executed. The original 09, with 09.5 conceived as a backup, was murdered by Loqi after insulting the former’s memories.

 

Out of the original 9 (or 10, counting 09.5), there remained Loqi, 03, 04, 06, 07, and 08.

 

04 had very little interaction with the rest of the specimens, primarily due to their instability or incompatibility with 04’s work. Both 06 and 08 remained powerhouses, the daemon hybrids that itched for fight and blood, while 07 carried out underground work as a spy for the Chancellor.

 

(04 wasn’t supposed to know that, but 04 was quiet in a way that the rest of the specimens weren’t.)

 

* * *

 

 

The first time 04 experienced feeling human, helpless, _afraid,_ was when Murus was caught in an explosion.

 

04 didn’t form attachments. It wasn’t programmed to feel them. If it felt any sort of fondness for one of its technicians, it hid it like it was told to from the very beginning. But when Murus was blasted to the side of the lab, burns covering her entire face, 04 felt the first stirrings of what it hadn’t realized was _panic._

 

04 was one of the first ones on the scene of the explosion to deal with whatever had become volatile, but it had paused in the middle of the room when it saw Murus lying against the blacked ground, unmoving, looking just like one of 04’s kills. 04 froze. It was lucky no one saw it, or else Loqi’s threat of having to undergo remission might have come true. 04 struggled against its orders.

 

_Save her. Identify the threat and destroy it. Save her. Identify the threat and destroy it._

 

04 grabbed her arm, the one that wasn’t reduced to more then blistered skin and exposed muscles, and dragged her through the debris to the door. 04 deposited her outside, before glancing around. The hallway was still empty due to the unknown factor in the explosion, it was blocked off from the rest of the labs. 04 bent down and checked Murus’ pulse _thank Ifrit, she’s alive,_ and walked over to the emergency phone. The operator immediately picked up.

 

_“Hello-”_

 

“Technician 5468, Murus, injured. Send EMS immediately to Lab 81.”

 

There was a pause as 04 heard typing. _“Sent. Who is this?”_

 

“XX19004.”

 

The operator's voice didn’t change. _“Thank you, XX19004. Goodbye.”_

 

04 hung up, before heading back into the room. Orders were disobeyed for a brief moment, so if it didn’t complete its task immediately, 04 knew there would be ramifications.

 

* * *

 

 

Loqi enjoyed fighting more then 04 did. The other specimen would spend hours training, improving its reaction time and speed so much that even 04’s enhanced eyes had trouble catching some of its movements.

 

“I want to fight the Immortal General.” Loqi announced one day, after training with 04 to improve what some of the higher lab technicians had called ‘materia’, an imitator of the power the crystals wielded.  

 

04 raised an eyebrow. Loqi had started training it to use human expressions, claiming that if 04 was ever sent undercover then it would be caught within the first hour. 04 was one of the most normal looking specimens and was often sent out to conduct business above ground, and so reluctantly agreed to Loqi’s insight as long as it meant being better at it’s purpose. “You’ll never meet him on the battlefield.”

 

“Is that because you doubt me, 04?”

 

“No, I simply mean to state that the Marshall is getting up in his years-” 04 protested.

 

“He’s still attractive though.” Loqi stated.

 

04 furrowed it’s eyebrows, staring at Loqi. “He is thirty five years old, you are eight and a half.”

 

Loqi waved its hand. “Just because I’m in this horrible body doesn’t mean I’m not two thousand five hundred and eighty two years old; I am older then the _Chancellor_ himself. I’ve existed since before Starscourge had no Oracle to combat it. I can say the Immortal is handsome.”

 

“And yet after living so long you haven’t gotten over beautiful people?”

 

“I have fine tastes after living so long, and the Marshall fits all the criteria.”

 

04 shook its head. “I can not believe you.”

 

Loqi looked smug. “You’ll know when you get to my age.”

 

* * *

 

  

It wasn’t Loqi who commanded 04 to refer to others by pronouns, but rather Ravus, who thought being called an ‘it’ was offensive. 04 didn’t understand why he was angry, since ‘it’ was a universal term 04 had always been called and called others in return, but he (no longer it) rectified the situation immediately.

 

Ravus was strange to 04, having not been brought up under the Niflheim lab. He and Loqi got along as well as Ifrit and Bahamut due to this, and when they met it almost resulted in another lab being destroyed. 04 became their self-appointed mediator, and whenever he wasn’t completing missions or physicals, he followed Ravus around.

 

Ravus wasn’t amused by it at first. He rounded on 04 once, in the middle of a hallway, and yelled, “Can’t you just leave me alone?”

 

“You are a foreigner, unused to how things are completed here.” 04 stated. “If you are looking for the bathroom, it’s behind us sixty-seven paces and two doors on your right.”

 

Ravus pushed passed 04 and used all of his strength to try and push him down, but the specimen remained unmoved.

 

The Prince of Tenebrae wasn’t happy in Gralea, 04 noticed. He would always storm about the hallways, as if hoping to find something to do, and rarely ate dinner, especially when in the Chancellor’s presence. The only time Ravus wasn’t focused on his misfortune was when he was bickering with Loqi.

 

04 dragged Loqi with him the next time he followed Ravus around, and was pleased with the results when Ravus remained in one training room for the duration of the afternoon.

 

Ravus also taught 04 that to appear human, you needed to smile. 04 wasn’t familiar with the term. Ravus had to demonstrate multiple times, while 04 watched the muscles of the older boy’s jaw tense and un-tense before he understood the physiology behind it. 04 attempted multiple times, but Ravus remained disappointed in his progress.

 

04 had never been a failure before. It had always surpassed expectations. But to be human? It didn’t know if it was capable of it.

 

Loqi passed him in the hallway between Labs 89 and 90, and gave 04 a funny look. “Why are you smiling for?”

 

“This is my new task. To appear human.” 04 stated, still trying to force his mouth into a grin.

 

“And smiling?”

 

“The first step.”

 

Loqi tilted his head to the side, as if sizing up 04, before saying, “You need to appear less stiff then. Less military."

 

“Where?”

 

“Your entire body. Just, slouch.” Loqi sighed at the bemused look on 04’s face. “Bring your shoulders forward.”

 

It was uncomfortable. 04 wasn’t used to it, but Loqi seemed pleased. “Better. Soon you’ll look like a normal human.”

 

04 felt good about itself.

  

* * *

 

 

Murus was incapacitated, paralyzed from the waist down, and usually that would be cause for dismissal from the leagues of technicians. But Abecula put in a word for it, mentioned her hardwork and dedication in the amazing success of XX19004, and remained part of 04’s lab.

 

04 was infinitely pleased, and tried to show it through a smile. Murus looked up behind her, at where 04 was silently pushing her wheelchair outside ( _out in the sun_ ), and frowned up at him. “What are you doing?”

 

“Trying to appear more human.”

 

She paused. “Is that a smile?”

 

“Yes, ma’am.”

 

04 continued wheeling her towards the elevator that would lead them up to the open world, the elevator that was heavily guarded by XY and ZZ specimens, and they managed to get her inside before she spoke again, “Think of something that makes you happy.”

 

“I’ve never felt happiness, ma’am.”

 

“Something that makes you pleased, then.” Murus tried, and 04 was grateful she used feelings he was familiar with.

 

04 tried thinking of the afternoon where Loqi and Ravus got along, when he learned that Murus was going to survive, when he came back from his first successful mission, and allowed the warmth in his chest to effect his face. The corners of his mouth twitched upwards, and it felt natural, nothing like the pain when he forced it on his face during Ravus’s lessons.

 

Murus nodded her head at him, but 04 could see her proudness in her eyes. “You’ve always been a quick learner.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

Usually specimens would be tested on their sensitivity of light in periods of time from the ages of infancy to ten, but 04 had yet to go outside to test his durability in two years. Abecula claimed it was due to the fact that the lab was trying to estimate the type of puberty XX19004 will go through (“Sprouting wings, or a tail like 03 has, is a development we must plan for.”), but 04 assumed it was due to the fact that Abecula wouldn’t move on until Murus was back in position as his favorite assistant, and so the yearly test was put off.

 

04 and Murus ended up in a long tunnel that led outside, and 04 could see through the cracks of doors light so white and bright, it made the blood in him boil at the thought.

 

Murus was used to the way 04 and the rest of the specimens reacted when faced with light- the fight or flight reaction had 07 kill three technicians before being sedated. But Murus kept silent as 04 pushed her towards the edge, and the doors automatically slid open.

 

04 remained just inside the darkness of the cave, but Murus was bathed in the light. She sighed when it touched her skin, too much time in the fluorescent lights was bad for humans 04 knew, but 04 felt frozen at the sight of it. It took less then half the time for the specimen’s eyes to adjust to the change in light then normal humans did, and 04’s eyes darted around, looking at the outside word of Gralea.

 

04 prefered Gralea at night, when it was lit up by stars and fake light. The sun still scared him, even at the age of nine.

 

Murus beckoned with her hand to have 04 push her further out of the tunnel, and 04 hesitated for a few seconds before following the order.

 

The sun made his skin prickle, like getting stabbed with needles all over every exposed bit of skin. Had it not been forced out of him, 04 would have screamed at the pain of the sun, but 04 remained diligently in the light as Murus basked in it.

 

“XX19004, stand in front of me. I want to test out a new type of skin protectant while we’re here.”

 

04 dutifully obeyed her wish, and allowed the injection. As soon as she pressed it in, 04 let out a garbled yell, the heat and pain of the sun felt like it was seeping into his arm, and through his arm to his chest and veins.

 

Murus watched this with interest, her eyes never leaving 04, like a doctor should. 04’s body shook for a few minutes in the pain, and he hadn’t realized he fell to his knees in front of her until she grabbed his hand and pulled him up. “You’re stronger then this, 04. I made you better then this.”

 

04 nodded his head, and the pain subsided a little while he stood up. The specimen took in a few deep breathes, audible ones (unusual for one of the XXs to show such a weakness like breathing), and noticed with a jolt that the pain in from the sun disappeared when the injection settled into his veins like a hot stream.  

 

Murus must have seen the surprise in his eyes and smiled. “I’m assuming then it helps.”

 

“Yes, ma’am.”

 

“Perfect. That injection will last a year and a half by my calculations, less depending on how much blood you don’t regenerate. From this point onwards you’ll work among humans undercover, do you understand?”

 

04 nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

 

“Wonderful. I’m glad this worked out, XX19004.”

 

* * *

 

 

When Loqi heard of 04’s purpose of working among humans, he stated plainly, “You’ll need a name.”

 

04 blinked at the reclining preteen, and Loqi rolled his eyes. “You can’t just expect to go in there saying ‘hello my name is specimen XX19004’.”

 

Another blink. Loqi threw his hands up in the air and leaned forward on the sofa. “A name. What name would you like.”

“I have no preference.” 04 proclaimed, and Loqi looked annoyed.

 

“Yeah, okay, I’m not picking a name for you on my own. I’m getting Ravus. Let’s go find him, I’m not doing this on my own.”

 

Ravus, much to the disappointment of the two other boys, had very little ideas on what to name 04. “What about Pulcinus?” He suggested, and Loqi looked offended.

 

“You want to call him _chicken?”_ exclaimed Loqi, affronted. “What, why not call him Chocobo tenderloin or something?”

 

Ravus flushed pink in anger. “You know that’s not what I meant-”

“Uh-huh, pick some better names then. 04, what about a letter? Do you have any prefered letter?”

 

04 didn’t, and so picked the first letter that came to mind. “P.”

 

“Pucellagium.” Ravus immediately said, and Loqi hit him upside of the head.

 

“What the fuck is with you and names? Maidenhood? Really?”

 

04 tried to calm them down, “What about something that describes me?”

 

“There’s no word that starts with P and means annoying, 04.” Loqi snickered, before _Ravus_ smacked him.

 

“What the fuck Ravus?” He snarled.

 

Ravus crossed his arms. “You say _my_ names are bad and here you are insulting 04!”

 

04 interjected once more, “Just list off names.”

 

“Probaticus.” Loqi declared.

 

“Prisia,” Ravus stated.

 

Loqi said, “Precula!”

 

“Prompto?” Ravus tried.

 

“Praeconsa.” Loqi announced, glancing at Ravus.

 

Ravus shook his head, “No way, Postilla.”

 

04 held up his hand so they would stop. “Out of those options, Prompto is the best one.”

 

Ravus and Loqi stared at 04. “Prompto?” Loqi made a quick sweep around 04, glancing up and down at him. “I can see it.”

 

“It’s a good choice- of course it is though, I suggested it.”

 

Loqi punched him once again, before adding on, “But we still need to figure out a last name.”

 

Ravus thought about it for a moment, before asking, “Prompto means ‘quick’ right?”

 

“Yeah.”

“What about Argentum? Prompto Argentum, ‘quicksilver’?”

 

04 found himself nodding along with Ravus. “It’s preferable, very clever. Thank you Ravus.”

 

Loqi also reluctantly agreed to the name.

 

That was how 04 found himself responding to Prompto.

 

* * *

 

 

Prompto felt like having a name made him more human. It felt easier to smile when Loqi called out, “Prompto!” then it did when it was Murus saying, “XX19004, we need you in the lab”.

 

During the time between creating Prompto’s name and Prompto’s tenth birthday, he underwent several missions lasting weeks at a time, each one helping him keep his 100% success rate. It also meant that to go out on this missions, the technicians like Abecula had to cut Prompto’s hair into something resembling style (it didn’t. No one thought that a hairstylist was necessary for specimens, and Abecula had no more experience in cutting hair then keeping Prompto’s hair short and close to his head), and file down Prompto’s teeth into something resembling flat human teeth. Unfortunately, Prompto’s nails were too tough to cut the normal way using nail cutters, and they simply had to file them down as well.

 

Loqi took one look at Prompto after one of these grooming sessions and broke out laughing. “You look like someone took a bowl and cut around it on your head.”

“It was an extra wide beaker.” Prompto told him, and Loqi laughed even harder.

 

“That’s so sad,” Loqi wiped his eyes, “It looks terrible. Look, I’ll cut your hair for you, I’ll fix it.”

 

Prompto had no understanding of beauty standards and so allowed Loqi to do with his blond hair as the other specimen wished.

 

Ravus walked in on the middle of Loqi’s helping, and stared. “How much gel did you use in his poor hair?”

 

“Quarter of a bottle, Ravus, don’t speak to me like that. I know what I’m doing.”

“You’ve never cut hair before-”

 

“Need I remind you of my age again, Ravus? If you have something to say, just eat your words.”

Ravus reluctantly shut up.

 

Prompto had to admit that by the end of the styling session, it didn’t turn out too bad. It was a bit asymmetrical and poofy, but it had a sense of distinction that he had never truly experienced previous. “I like it.”

 

Loqi beamed, the ten year old/two thousand year old boy infinitely pleased. “You’re welcome, Prompto.”

 

* * *

 

 

Prompto received his first and last major assignment the week leading up to his eleventh birthday. Murus and Abecula both were sitting behind their desks when he entered the lab, and the papers before them promised something either wonderful or terrible was going to happen to him.

 

“XX19004, take a seat.” Abecula invited, motioning towards the seat in front of his desk.

 

Prompto sat calmly. “What is my next assignment?”

 

“It is a hopefully permanent assignment in Insomnia.” Prompto did not let the surprise show through on his face, and Abecula’s eyes looked at him intensely for a few seconds in search of weakness, and seemed proud when he didn’t find any. “You’ll be living in the Crown City, attending the same school as Prince Noctis, and will become one of his most trusted friends and advisors. You will report back to the Chancellor personally whenever it is safe to do so. XX19004, this is your last assignment, and at the end of it you will be terminated, whether by the enemy or by our own technicians.”

 

Prompto understood the risk. He glanced over at Murus, and she seemed both sad and proud of him once more. “When will I leave? Will I have a chance to speak once more with specimen XX19002 and Nox Fleuret?”

Abecula nodded once. “You may speak to them, you depart with a group of refugees on the border of Lestallum in one week’s time.” He paused for a second, before saying, “XX19004, I am satisfied of what you have become. You’re the perfect specimen, I know you will make this a successful mission once again.”

 

Prompto smiled at his creator. “Thank you, doctor. Your work has made me the perfect soldier for the Empire. Long live the Emperor.”

 

Both doctors repeated the phrase after him, and Prompto turned on his heel to leave after a brief handshake from Murus, one that squeezed his palm tight and promised that everything would end up working.

 

Prompto headed out of the lab and up into the elevator to find Loqi and Ravus.

 

There was much to do before he left.


End file.
